Buccaneers serve up a super-sized order of envy, with a slice of jealousy
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made NFL teams envious by restructuring contracts to re-sign most of the key players on this Super Bowl winning team.
With the virtually improbable signings of almost the whole main crew from this last year’s Super Bowl winning team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done something no other team in recent memory has been able to do in the era of free agency. And every other team has to be incredulous that Tampa has re-signed and kept most of their Super Bowl winning team.
After a well-deserved couple of days of debauchery and carousing celebrating the championship, we overheard Bruce Arians ‘butt dial’ Bucs fans with hopeful, yet emphatic promises to Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and Shaquil Barrett.
No one actually thought BA would be able to keep those promises, let alone remember them. Especially with such small cap numbers to work with, yours truly didn’t even think there was a snowball’s chance in the netherworld of that actually happening, but back that truck up! Most of the key players have been lured back to go for 2 in a row!! The latest re-signing is Ndamukong Suh, which pretty much seals up our front seven for defensive domination again this year.
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With Suh, a healthy Vita Vea, Shaq and JPP all coming back, this stifling, potent defensive unit will be even more feared. The Bucs also re-signed Rakeem (Nacho) Nunez-Roches, who adds a great back-up for Vea, and I’m anxious to see if Khalil Davis can take a jump this year as well. But WAIT!
Every other team in the league is probably fuming right now in disbelief the Bucs are doing what they are able to do. All this will take the Bucs draft into uncharted territory, especially if Brown and Fournette return. It’s been a loooooong time, if ever, that the Bucs were in that enviable position to draft a luxury pick as their #1. If they are lucky, they can draft someone like Christian Barmore out of Alabama, FSU’s Marvin Wilson, or maybe even Khyiris Tonga from BYU. All could add depth and take over when Suh, JPP, and others retire or move on next year.
The Bucs should draft an Edge or DL for the first pick, especially if “Lombardi Lenny” signs. And if he doesn’t, if one of these two RB’s are available at 32, draft Travis Etienne or Najee Harris. If both of them are gone, an Edge or DL would be a great first pick to add reinforcements for the future. You can never have too many pass rushers, so that would be a smart move.
Defense wins, or many times, saves games, so fortify that position in the first couple rounds. O-Line depth is never a bad thing to get in mid-rounds, and I don’t think we draft a WR until the later rounds for insurance for the next couple years, since there’s a chance we could lose Godwin in 2022.
Next. Buccaneers are in a prime position to have top-rated defense in 2021. dark
Bottom line is, the Bucs are in one of the most enviable positions in the draft, even with the last pick in round 1. Every other team was licking their chops in hopes of plundering the Bucs’ free-agents and destroying any chance they had of repeating next year. But revel in this, my friends, remain proud yet humble, as we know what it’s like to be in the unenviable position of 3rd or 4th in the division every year.